OR...
"Every improvement or advance in knowledge is profit to a wise man."
~Noah Webster
Society today is saturated with the belief that the word PROFIT must be defined in terms of monetary gain. However, if we look back to Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary definition of the word PROFIT, we find that, although monetary gain is mentioned in a few of the definitions, 4 out of the 7 definitions also cite reading and intellectual gains as PROFIT. (http://www.1828-dictionary.com/d/search/word,profit).
One of the most enlightening definitions of PROFIT is seen here:
"Any advantage; any accession of good from labor or exertion; an extensive signification, comprehending the acquisition of any thing valuable, corporeal or intellectual, temporal or spiritual. A person may derive profit from exercise, amusements, reading, study, meditation, social intercourse, religious instruction, &c. Every improvement or advance in knowledge is profit to a wise man."
Ashamedly, the modern Merriam-Webster Dictionary boasts a lucrative amount of monetary definitions associated with the word PROFIT (4 out of 8) but never once mentions PROFIT in terms of intellectual, social, or spiritual gain. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/profit).
The most important issue here is:
WHAT DO YOU DEFINE PROFIT AS?
If you will apply the 1828 definition of PROFIT to yourself, you may discover that you are much more PROFITABLE than you have previously believed!
If, for a time, you have been duped by the false notion that PROFIT is all monetary and you have therefore been a "failure" - go read a book, exercise, serve someone in your community, or attend a church service, and re-discover that PROFIT is much more than just monetary gain.
It is improving and advancing your life, and that of others, in social, intellectual, and spiritual ways.
Now GO and have a most PROFITABLE day!
